Pegatron chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) today joined a motorcade in Hualien County rallying support to oust Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) ahead of a wave of recall votes set for Saturday.
Tung, a Hualien native and outspoken advocate for political reform, rode with Hualien County Council Speaker Chang Chun (張峻), an independent, along with other local councilors and civic groups through the county's central and northern regions.
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
Speaking to reporters before the tour, Tung likened the county's political atmosphere to "a puddle of stagnant water," breeding mosquitoes and filth.
He said Hualien deserves a cleaner, more pluralistic political scene, one that nurtures young talent instead of suffocating it.
The KMT's Hualien Chapter later issued a statement calling Tung a respected, self-made businessman known for his impartial views.
That he would wade into this "stark political power struggle" is especially "heartbreaking," it said.
Fu is being subjected to a political witch hunt that ignores his contributions to Hualien and aims only to suppress dissent, the party said.
Tung was also asked about the apparent split between his pro-recall stance and that of Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who opposes the campaign.
Tung is set to represent the TPP in a televised debate on a Aug. 23 referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County.
Tung, a vocal supporter of nuclear energy, said only that matters such as nuclear power and recall campaigns should be answered through personal conscience, and declined to elaborate further.
Civic groups have launched mass recall votes targeting 31 KMT lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), who has been indicted on corruption charges.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address